A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
Despite its superficial attention to 1950s detail (suits, hats, frocks, cars), the more The Hour tries to feel authentic, the less convincing it becomes.
Someone who never saw the first season could jump in Wednesday night and quickly get downright absorbed in one of the best-crafted and acted dramas on television.
While Freddie, played wonderfully by Whishaw, remains one of the show's virtues, The Hour's great disappointment is that this new season is still doing so badly by Bel.
It's a subtle intertwining of journalists' professional struggles, their personal lives, and the thorny social issues that envelope them, and I can't recommend it enough.
If only the show's producers had more faith in their characters-and in the idea that viewers will be entertained and challenged by watching them struggle to do a good job of holding people out there in the "real world" accountable for their actions.
